by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Feb 23, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Where to watch: BSWI, BSN, BSOH
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Wild -190, Blue Jackets +160
FanDuel: Wild -194, Blue Jackets +160
BetMGM: Wild -185, Blue Jackets +150
Caesars: Wild -189, Blue Jackets +158
Season record
Wild: 31-21-5
Red Wings: 37-15-5
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Wild - Blue Jackets preview, prediction and analysis
The Minnesota Wild will be playing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, February 23 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Minnesota Wild won against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, February 21 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota with a score of 2-1. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Ryan Hartman scored twice for the Minnesota Wild in their third straight win. They were Hartman's eighth and ninth goals of the season, four of which have been scored in the past six games.
"I'm getting a lot more odd-man rushes than earlier in the year," Hartman said. "We're getting opportunities to score and shooting opportunities from good areas, [and] that wasn't really the case before. Had a chance to score one on the other side before the second goal; it just hit his glove. So, it's nice to get inside there."
Filip Gustavsson made 33 saves for the Wild (31-21-5), who finished 4-2-1 on a seven-game homestand. All four of their victories were decided by one goal.
"[The homestand] started off tough," Gustavsson said. "We were out of the wild card spot (in the Western Conference), we had a little dip in our confidence. It didn't feel like the bounces went our way. We had to kind of force it.
"Just get more people to the net. Get more shots there, and then give them less opportunities to score on us. We got one-goal wins, and that's what we need to get it back."
Minnesota forward Adam Beckman had what would have been his first NHL goal taken away on a power play at 9:25 of the first period, but Los Angeles successfully challenged that Hartman entered the zone offside.
But Hartman's 100th NHL goal gave the Wild a 1-0 lead just 13 seconds into the second period. Kirill Kaprizov spun and left the puck for Hartman in the right face-off circle, where he scored with a wrist shot.
"What we liked is [Hartman's] speed, his work, his drive," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "He put himself in a position to do it. We've watched him and seen him. It was really good."
Gustavsson made 14 saves in the second to keep it a one-goal game, and Hartman made it 2-0 at 15:12 of the third period when he brought the puck into the zone from his own blue line and beat Copley with a wrist shot from the right circle.
Anze Kopitar ended Gustavsson's shutout when he scored on a rebound with 21 seconds left for the 2-1 final.
The Minnesota Wild have won five of their last 10 games.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost against the Arizona Coyotes last Sunday, February 19 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 3-2 in overtime. The Columbus Blue Jackets currently rank 8th in the Metropolitan Division.
Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, and Merzlikins made 22 saves for the Blue Jackets (18-34-5), who were trying to win three straight for the first time this season.
"The last little stretch here, we've played some good hockey. It's details and competitiveness, and we're kind of dialing in on that," Jenner said. "Obviously, when you do that, you're going to get better results."
After Arizona scored the first two goals, Jenner cut it to 2-1 at 13:23 of the second period, setting up in front of Ingram and deflecting Nick Blankenburg's wrist shot from the edge of the right circle.
"That was big. We had chances throughout the first and early on in the second," Blankenburg said. "Then you get one, and you can keep building off that momentum shift after shift, which ended up happening on that goal."
It was the first goal Ingram had allowed in 147:08. He earned the start after stopping all 23 shots he faced in relief of Karel Vejmelka in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Patrik Laine tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 15:07 of the third, scoring on a one-timer from the top of the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Adam Boqvist.
"Obviously, we wanted to have a better start, but we found our game pretty good in the second and third," Jenner said. "We just dialed it up a little bit, gave ourselves a chance of competing, and it's too bad we couldn't get that extra [point]."
The Columbus Blue Jackets have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2
The Minnesota Wild won against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, February 21 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota with a score of 2-1. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Ryan Hartman scored twice for the Minnesota Wild in their third straight win. They were Hartman's eighth and ninth goals of the season, four of which have been scored in the past six games.
"I'm getting a lot more odd-man rushes than earlier in the year," Hartman said. "We're getting opportunities to score and shooting opportunities from good areas, [and] that wasn't really the case before. Had a chance to score one on the other side before the second goal; it just hit his glove. So, it's nice to get inside there."
Filip Gustavsson made 33 saves for the Wild (31-21-5), who finished 4-2-1 on a seven-game homestand. All four of their victories were decided by one goal.
"[The homestand] started off tough," Gustavsson said. "We were out of the wild card spot (in the Western Conference), we had a little dip in our confidence. It didn't feel like the bounces went our way. We had to kind of force it.
"Just get more people to the net. Get more shots there, and then give them less opportunities to score on us. We got one-goal wins, and that's what we need to get it back."
Minnesota forward Adam Beckman had what would have been his first NHL goal taken away on a power play at 9:25 of the first period, but Los Angeles successfully challenged that Hartman entered the zone offside.
But Hartman's 100th NHL goal gave the Wild a 1-0 lead just 13 seconds into the second period. Kirill Kaprizov spun and left the puck for Hartman in the right face-off circle, where he scored with a wrist shot.
"What we liked is [Hartman's] speed, his work, his drive," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "He put himself in a position to do it. We've watched him and seen him. It was really good."
Gustavsson made 14 saves in the second to keep it a one-goal game, and Hartman made it 2-0 at 15:12 of the third period when he brought the puck into the zone from his own blue line and beat Copley with a wrist shot from the right circle.
Anze Kopitar ended Gustavsson's shutout when he scored on a rebound with 21 seconds left for the 2-1 final.
The Minnesota Wild have won five of their last 10 games.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost against the Arizona Coyotes last Sunday, February 19 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 3-2 in overtime. The Columbus Blue Jackets currently rank 8th in the Metropolitan Division.
Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, and Merzlikins made 22 saves for the Blue Jackets (18-34-5), who were trying to win three straight for the first time this season.
"The last little stretch here, we've played some good hockey. It's details and competitiveness, and we're kind of dialing in on that," Jenner said. "Obviously, when you do that, you're going to get better results."
After Arizona scored the first two goals, Jenner cut it to 2-1 at 13:23 of the second period, setting up in front of Ingram and deflecting Nick Blankenburg's wrist shot from the edge of the right circle.
"That was big. We had chances throughout the first and early on in the second," Blankenburg said. "Then you get one, and you can keep building off that momentum shift after shift, which ended up happening on that goal."
It was the first goal Ingram had allowed in 147:08. He earned the start after stopping all 23 shots he faced in relief of Karel Vejmelka in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Patrik Laine tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 15:07 of the third, scoring on a one-timer from the top of the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Adam Boqvist.
"Obviously, we wanted to have a better start, but we found our game pretty good in the second and third," Jenner said. "We just dialed it up a little bit, gave ourselves a chance of competing, and it's too bad we couldn't get that extra [point]."
The Columbus Blue Jackets have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2
Betting trends
Wild are 12-10 in non-conference games this season.
Wild are 18-11 after a home game this season.
Blue Jackets are 7-21 off an under this season.
Projected lines
Wild:
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Adam Beckman -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Alex Goligoski
Filip Gustavsson
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Adam Beckman -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Alex Goligoski
Filip Gustavsson
Blue Jackets:
Kirill Marchenko -- Boone Jenner -- Patrik Laine
Kent Johnson -- Cole Sillinger -- Lane Pederson
Liam Foudy -- Jack Roslovic -- Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson -- Sean Kuraly -- Mathieu Olivier
Tim Berni -- Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg -- Andrew Peeke
Gavin Bayreuther -- Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Kirill Marchenko -- Boone Jenner -- Patrik Laine
Kent Johnson -- Cole Sillinger -- Lane Pederson
Liam Foudy -- Jack Roslovic -- Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson -- Sean Kuraly -- Mathieu Olivier
Tim Berni -- Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg -- Andrew Peeke
Gavin Bayreuther -- Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Wild - Blue Jackets prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
